Our Trial Talk Podcast aims to explore how the work we carry at the MRC Clinical Trials Unit at UCL is contributing to improving health in the UK and around the world. 

 

We have just started a new series of our podcast!

Each month, we will hear from world-leading experts about the studies we carry out. We will go inside trials on cancer, infections, and neurodegenerative diseases, explore how public and patient involvement is shaping our studies, and discover new ways to run smarter clinical trials. 

Listen now on your favourite podcast app. We are on Google Podcast, Apple Podcast, Spotify and SoundCloud.

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Episode 1: The ARCHERY study – Can AI transform the way we plan radiotherapy treatment globally?

More than 50% of people living with cancer that need radiotherapy in low- and middle-income countries can't have it. Ajay Aggarwal presents the ARCHERY study, an exciting trial looking at the benefits of using artificial intelligence (AI) for radiotherapy treatment planning, which could improve access to high quality cancer treatment globally.

Access the transcript here.

 

 

Episode 2 - Part 1: Sharing results of clinical trials with participants

Clinical trials depend on people volunteering to take part, often at increased risk or inconvenience. Research shows that most trial participants want to know what the trial finds, but many never get to find this out. Annabelle South talks about why sharing results is important and how the Show RESPECT study tested different ways of sharing results with participants.

Episode 2 - Part 2: Sharing results of clinical trials with participants

We have an ethical obligation to offer results to trial participants. Annabelle South explores the challenges of sharing results and talks about the best ways of communicating results from an ovarian cancer trial. As a final note, Annabelle reflects on what should be the next steps to ensure that all trial participants find out about the results.

Access the transcript here.

 

 

 

Episode 3: The STREAM2 trial: How should we treat multi-drug resistant tuberculosis?

For World TB Day, this episode explores the global burden of tuberculosis (TB) and how growing antibiotic resistance can complicate treatment options. Andrew Nunn, a Professor of Epidemiology, discusses his work on the STREAM2 trial, which investigated how treatment for multi-drug resistant TB could be shortened and made more acceptable for patients.

Access the transcript here.

 

Episode 4: Neonatal infections (part 1): The NeoOBS study and the global challenge of neonatal sepsis

214,000 newborn babies die of sepsis caused by infections that are resistant to antibiotics every year. This is a major problem worldwide, but disproportionally affects low- and middle- income countries. Reenu Thomas and Adrie Bekker, two neonatologists from South Africa, and Francesca Schiavone, clinical project manager at the MRC CTU at UCL in London, discuss the challenges of treating neonatal sepsis and present the results from an observational study (NeoOBS), which assessed mortality rates of babies with sepsis.

Access the transcript here.

If you want to check previous episodes, they are available in our SoundCloud channel. We would appreciate any feedback, whether you've listened to one episode or the whole series!

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